The Pyrrhian Courier
by Piston24
Summary: After a bad run-in with deathclaws at Quarry Junction, the Courier barely escapes with his life. However, he ends up in another world, one that's so different, yet so familiar. After all, war never changes. Rated T for obvious reasons. *Being restructured from the ground up*
1. Chapter 1

Quarry Junction. Out of all the places deathclaws could chooses to inhabit, it had to be Quarry Junction. Why? Well, it's obvious why. It's what I would call a stronghold. Only 2 entrances, impassible limestone cliffs, and the perfect place to raise the newly hatches monstrosities. Not to mention that nothing, _absolutely nothing_ , has been done to mitigate the problem _whatsoever_. Well, the NCR is preoccupied enough as they are, so I'll let it slide, for now. Hell, they're having trouble holding their position here in the Mojave. Back to the subject at hand. The deathclaws in the Quarry are a problem, and that's where I come in. I "volunteered" to eliminate the deathclaws over there. To be more specific, I was forcefully pressured into doing this. (I'll get you for this Mr. New Vegas) God help me. I should be able to do this, I'm the Courier for crying out load. If I can't do this, nothing short of a nuclear warhead will dislodge those bastards. Oh right, deathclaws are still thriving in the Divide… damn it.

Now, my plan is relatively simple in theory. Kill any deathclaws that I encounter and end the Alpha and the Mother's lives fast and efficiently. Simple in theory, but the execution will be much harder to pull off. For one, the scouting I've done around the quarry has shown that the whole damn place is crawling with at least two dozen deathclaws, not to mention the young ones, several infants, and the two parents. Secondly, I'm doing this damn mission alone. I got myself into this situation, I'm getting myself out. Besides, I'm _not_ letting any of my companions die because of my stupid mistake. What else was a problem? Oh yeah. This problem is a rather small one. I'll be swamped before I even reach where the Mother and Alpha reside. So, I have determined four ways of approaching this:

Go in guns blazing, get the attention of around half the deathclaws, and die painfully.

Use a stealth boy to sneak in, kill the Mother and Alpha, and hopefully get out alive.

Snipe each individual deathclaw at long-range and take out the two parents the same way.

Borrow the Remnants vertibird and lay radioactive death onto these abominations of nature with mini nukes.

Obviously, option three is the best choice. After all, if I pull this plan off without any problems, I shouldn't even need to come close to any of those damn lizards. Besides, I don't have enough mini nukes for an overhead bombing run. Well, I don't know how to fly a vertibird either, and I doubt Daisy would let me even into the cockpit. *sigh* Might as well draw some supply lists and a more specific plan for number three.

 _-8 hours later-_

Okay, where did I put the checklist? Ah, right, in the Pres. Suite. There it is. Okay, last equipment check.

Anti-Material Rifle _Check_

A Light Shining In Darkness _Check_

Plasma Defender _Check_

Riot Shotgun _Check_

Flashbangs _Check_

Incendiary Grenades _Check_

25 Stimpacks _Check_

Miscellaneous Chems _Check_

Doctor Bags _Check_

Stealth Boys _Check_

Set of Elite Riot Gear _Check_

.50 Cal Armor Piercing rounds _Check_

.50 Cal Explosive Rounds _Check_

Fixer…

Damnit! Why did I forget the damn fixer! Might as well pick some up from the Followers. Getting up from my desk, I walked into to the main room. Whistling some meaningless tune, I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the casino floor. Exiting the elevator, I walked through the lobby and exited onto the Strip. Briefly stopping outside the doorway, I soaked in the Strip's atmosphere. The drunken yelling, those prostitutes outside the Gomorrah that I _swear_ never leave their position, Securitrons patrolling the streets, and all those drunk NCR soldiers. _Beautiful_. Walking to the gate that separated the Strip from Freeside, I stepped through and flashed my passport at the securitrons guarding the gate. Walking through Freeside, I clutched my plasma defender a little too tightly. If there was one thing that still freaked me out, it was the prospect of being mugged by some chem addict holding a lead pipe. Shivering slightly at that thought, I hurried over to the Mormon Fort's large wooden doors.

Okay, now to find Julie. A quick glance around revealed her to be nowhere in sight. Turning over to one of the Follower's guards, I voiced a question to him:

"Have you seen Julie?" I asked simply.

"Oh, she's over in one of the tents over there," he said pointing to a small cluster of tents near the southern wall.

Now the hard part, convincing Julie to sell me some fixer.

 _-Fifteen Long Minutes Later-_

"… thanks for the fixer Julie!" I yelled over my shoulder as I exited the Old Mormon Fort.

"No problem William!" She yelled back.

Heh, that was easier than expected. Of course, med-x is rather valuable to the Followers, so it was rather easy to trade some for a couple packs of fixer.

"Okay… that should be about everything." I muttered to myself as I headed back to the Lucky 38.

Of course, I hope it's everything. After all, if I slip up over at Quarry Junction, I'll die. Nothing more to it. Maybe I should my transportalponder just in case. Yes, it's the perfect contingency! If I find myself trapped by deathclaws, I could just use it and wait out the attack at the Sink. Besides, it's been awhile since I've been to the good ol' Big Empty. I'm sure the personality modules will be happy to see me again. Back to the mission at hand. Okay, fixer is off the list, so I'll just run back to the suite and grab the transportalponder. Getting off the elevator, I ran over to my weapons cabinet and snatched it. Securing it inside my overcoat, I finally felt ready to face off the deathclaws.

Taking up a position on the opposite side of the southern entrance, I unslung my anti-material rifle off my back and slotted a magazine of explosive rounds into it. Bringing the rifle up to my shoulder, I squinted into the scope and brought the sights up to a deathclaw's head. Taking a deep breath and holding it, I pulled the trigger. The head exploded in a fantastic explosion of gore as the body slumped to the ground, dead. Another noise had pierced my consciousness, however. The sound happened to be the crack of my rifle. Oh crap! I forgot to put on my silencer.

Slowly, every deathclaw near the entrance turned to my form hidden in the hills. I backed away slowly, and in the process activated one of my stealth boys. It was a little too late, as every deathclaw in my immediate vicinity charged me. Slinging my anti-material rifle onto my back, I reached into my overcoat and pulled out the transportalponder. Time to get out of here. As I pulled the trigger and the familiar blue aura surrounded me, I felt the sharp claws of a deathclaw behind me slice at my back.

Luckily for me, my armor absorbed most of the blow, but it still hurt like hell. Dimly registering what was going on, I felt my body fall onto the transportalponder just as the teleportation occurred. Unlike my previous excursions to the Big Empty via the transportalponder, this trip was unbearably painful. It honestly felt like a combination of being poisoned by cazador venom, set on fire, and the feeling of repeatedly smashing into some kind of… wall, of sorts. All of this happened in a moment, but it felt like an eternity in limbo.

As the teleportation ended, I felt battered and bruised. Groaning quietly in pain, I sat up and injected a vial of med-x into my bloodstream. As the painkiller entered my system, I felt the pain slowly fade away into an abyss of cooling numbness. With the pain gone, I took notice of my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was the transportalponder's condition. The tube that housed the crackling blue energy was cracked in multiple placed, the antennae was bent in multiple places, and the handle was very battered.

With my inspection of the transportalponder over, I noticed that my surroundings were lush green. The colors were so _vibrant and healthy looking._ It's strikingly beautiful, and I thought Zion was the best part of the post-apocalyptic world. And there are actual trees. Trees! And grass! This is amazing! It's almost like a nuclear holocaust never happened. But seriously, where am I? Bringing my Pip-Boy near my face, I flipped to the world map tab and was greeted with the words, "No Connection". Okay, that is not good. Well, screw it, I'm going to catch some sleep. I can't stay awake forever, and I would rather explore this place without sleep deprivation. Besides, I can't see twenty-five feet in front of me, and I would prefer not to waste my low-light optics on night travel.

 **William the Courier's SPECIAL**

 **Strength: 8**

 **Perception: 9**

 **Endurance: 7**

 **Charisma: 8**

 **Intelligence: 7**

 **Agility: 7**

 **Luck: 5**

 **Perk Added: Just lucky I'm Alive**

 **-With many close run-ins with death in such a**

 **Short amount of time, you gain +3 luck for four**

 **Minutes after a close brush with death.**

 **In all honesty, this is an experimental fic for me, as this is my first time actually publishing a crossover fic. I accept anything you throw at me, whether it be feedback, suggestions, criticism, lay it on me. Thanks for reading. I promise that we'll get into more of pyrrhia next chapter.**

 **-Piston**


	2. Chapter 2

For once, I actually slept without any nightmares. That's really nice considering I don't know where the hell I am. China? Nah, that place was nuked. Russia? Wait, that was nuked too. Now that I think about it, I might actually be in Mexico. If I remember correctly, it wasn't nuked… as badly. Or what if this was one of the Think Tank's maniacal experiments. Maybe a simulation? I just don't know anymore. Ooooh, wait, maybe I'm high. That might explain it. Wait, that wouldn't work either. Drugs would have worn off during my slumber.

Screw it, I'll just wander around a bit hoping that something happens. After all, that's how I figure things out. Well, not really, but I find all sorts of information that way, so close enough. Now, which direction should I go in? North? East? God, I can't decide. Time to break out the most ancient ritual for choosing. Eenie meenie miney mo, catch a deathclaw by its toe (disclaimer: Don't actually catch a deathclaw by its toe) If it slashes let it go, Eenie meenie miney mo. South it is! Let the wandering commence.

Walking is rather tiresome at this point. I guess a dislike for walking would be detrimental to the career as a courier. Of course, the caps are good, so I can put aside my relationship with walking for a steady source of income. I'm getting off topic. Walking through the forest is actually enjoyable. There's so much foliage and greenery to look at. The animals themselves are extremely numerous to the point that my HUD radar was swamped with blue signatures. It also feels like the forest itself is a living, breathing creature. It never seems to stop creating noise. Surprisingly, it does turn into background noise rather quick.

In fact, it's rather calm here. Definitely a nice change of pace from the Mojave's general atmosphere. For once, I don't feel like something is going to jump out and stab me with a rusty fork. Something just occurred to me. It feels a lot easier to walk here than it does at home. I don't mean that the terrain's easier to cross, or that me spacing out is making this journey easier. It legitimately is physically easier to walk, _and I don't know why_. It might have something to do with gravity, but that's impossible considering that Earth's gravity couldn't be different in part of the world than it is in one part in the other.

I should take a break now, considering that I've been walking for about 5 hours. That's nothing compared to what I could walk in the Mojave, but the Mojave doesn't the term _desert_ for nothing. This forest is nice, but all of these plants really do get in the way. Especially the vines. God I hate the vines. They cling to you like a mother clinging to her baby, but at least they aren't trying to kill me. In fact, even though the transportalponder in broken, I am ecstatic that nothing has tried to attack or kill me yet. Doesn't mean I don't have my riot shotgun loaded and ready to be used in a second's notice. I just hope it stays this way. I really don't have that much ammo to spare at the moment. Speaking of that, I probably should convert some of my MF cells into some grenades. Never know when you might need an explosion of super-heated plasma.

Might as well some now, considering I'm in relative safety. How do I make them again? Oh, right. Take off the safety latches, gut the MFC for the plasma relays, stuff them into one MFC and wire them together, use the spare parts to make a trigger to overload the plasma relays, and BAM! IED plasma grenades. God I love making those. Makes me feel like a pyromaniac, which is awesome! Maybe I shouldn't do the mad scientist laugh right now, you never know what that would cause. I just wish I had some duct tape, a string of MFC grenades would be as intimidating as shit. That reminds me, I should probably examine the transportalponder closer.

With more light to examine my tool, the damage is much more evident. The "few cracks" I observed were actually a spider web of cracks across the glass that were slowly leaking radiation. Not enough to kill me, mind you, just enough so that my body was able to dispel it at the same rate I was absorbing it. The antennae itself isn't as badly bent as I thought it was. I should be able to straighten it out with the proper equipment. I can't say the handle is in as good of shape. The handle itself is being held to the the main part of the gun by only a few silver and gold wires. The trigger has completely fallen off, which means I'll have to jury-rig a solution.

Getting back to my feet, I shoved the transportalponder back into my coat and continued walking. Maybe going this direction was a meaningless decision. I mean, for crying out loud, I haven't run into anything remotely interesting. That thought died when I tore myself out of my inner monologue and looked at what spanned before me.

A large section of the forest, maybe about a mile squared in front of me looked like it had been violently burned and then smashed into ash. Many twisted shapes huddled forlornly against each other. Looking over this tragic scene, I felt a chill go down my spine, _but I don't know why_. I also feel this niggling sense of fear gnawing at me. Not directly from the scene, but from the implications of what I'm seeing. If I'm interpreting this correctly, then something with… some sort of fire burned this place to the ground. What burned it down, and why would it have been burned down?

Oh god, I just realized what the chill was about. These blackened shapes were _frames of houses._ Something torched a _village. And I don't know why_. This raises more questions than it answers. For one, I know some form of sentient life is here, this burnt out town proves it. At the same time, however, who built it? Why was it burned down? And when? God this is confusing me. Hang on, what's that in the ash? Oh, just a stone statue of some guy holding a spear. I'm either looking at some rough caricature of a member of Caesar's Legion out of gear, of a medieval styled tribal. Guess that answers my questions about sapient life existing here.

Well, since I'm here, another break! About lunchtime anyway. Reaching into one of my coat's many pockets, I pulled out an MRE and ripped through the packaging. Oooooooh, this was going to be good. Should I have a Sunset Sarsaparilla with my food? Sure, why not. Taking off my helmet, I Sat down on some steps near the center of the town, I started chewing through the pre-packaged food. Doesn't taste the best, but it'll keep anyone from starving. Popping the bottle cap off the Sarsaparilla, I took a long draft, but spit it out as soon I saw _it_ staring at me.

 _It_ was some deathclaw-esque… thing. However, instead of being bipedal in appearance, this… _thing_ was a quadruped, with claws that were smaller than your standard deathclaw… claws, I guess. It… I shouldn't call it it, maybe… oh, I got it! It looks a lot like those dragons from Grognak! Except red, but that's beside the point. This "dragon" also had reptilian wings that seemed to be as nearly long as his body. (I assume it's a male) The tail he had was also a tad longer than a deathclaw's. To top it all off, he seemed to be around four times as tall as me. Shit.

It just occurred to me, the eyes. The eyes are surprisingly human, with a degree of intelligence and… curiosity. Weird. In fact, the dragon's looking at me as if I'm from another world. I guess I am, in a sense. Wearing Elite Riot Gear probably is fueling the crazy "I'm an alien theory" that is most likely swirling inside this dragon's mind. Maybe this dragon is sapient. I have heard of intelligent deathclaws, so it's possible.

While every molecule in my body screamed at me to shriek in panic or run away as fast as I was capable of, I slowly reached down where I put my helmet and put it back on my head. Intimidation would be my best chance of survival. Pulling out one of the MFC grenades I made earlier, I pressed the trigger and lobbed it in the direction of the dragon. I wasn't aiming specifically at him, just hoping to get it close enough to spook him when it went off.

At this move, the dragon just… continued staring at me with a confused expression. At least until the grenade went off. The explosion of plasma definitely did shock the dragon, but I didn't see any signs of horror or fear. Maybe I can still save this attempt.

"Leave," I growled trying to sound menacing and calm. It sounded more like a plea for mercy, but whatever.

In response, the dragon returned a growl of his own and started to slowly circle me like it was assessing me. Screw this, I need to end this _game_ quickly _._ Slowly pulling my anti-material rifle off my back, I brought the scope up to my eye and initiated VATS. I didn't need it, but I wanted to be sure I wouldn't miss. Entering VATS is always so strange: time around you slows like it's going through molasses, but your mind doesn't slow down. In fact, it's almost like my pip-boy injects me with some kind of hyper-turbo. Hell, that actually wouldn't surprise me.

Looking over the dragon's body, I decided to target the right hind leg. It should slow down the dragon and convince it to leave me alone. Letting VATS guide my actions, I pointed the gun at that particular target and pulled the trigger.

The effect was immediate. While the shot did not completely destroy the leg, it sure as hell did mangle it. I'm pretty sure I saw bone poking through. That was nothing compared to the dragon's screams of agony. While he was doing this dramatic display, I sprinted in the other direction to the safety of the forest. Diving into the trees, I quickly lied on my stomach and pulled out a pair of binoculars. Why binoculars? Why not. Looking through, I got my answer to what might have burned down this village.

The dragon was spewing white-hot flames from his mouth. This raised to many questions. For one, WHAT KIND OF SPAWN OF SATAN AM I LOOKING AT! THIS THING CAN PROBABLY FLY IF THE WINGS ARE OF ANY INDICATION, IS LARGER THAN A DEATHCLAW, AND BREATHES DAMN FIRE! WHAT THE HELL! WHAT KIND OF AMALGAMATION AM I LOOKING AT! Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let's just back away slowly.

In a short amount of time, another one of those red dragons came to see what the hell was going on with her friend. She slowly looked over at his shot leg, and the face she made was one of absolute horror. From what I could see, they were… communicating? If they were, I'm sure he's telling her about the big, bad human with red eyes that straight up crippled his leg. God, that would be hilarious. Wait, what if alcohol exists here? That would be awesome. She would probably believe that he was completely shitfaced and… I don't know, tripped or something?

I should leave now. If she actually believes him, I'm screwed. Activating another one of my stealth boys, I backed away from the drama and started a brisk walk in search of some kind of shelter I could spend the night in. Signing off.

~William

 ***Level Cap raised by five**

 **New Perk: Intense Training: Intelligence 7 -** **8**

 **I forgot to mention in the last chapter's notes that you shouldn't expect frequent updates, as I do have other things going on. I appreciate the positive feedback that this story has gotten so far. I would also like to ask if anyone has any ideas for a story cover, as the one I'm using is kinda a placeholder. As always, leave your feedback, I can really use constructive criticism. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, shelter shelter shelter shelter shelter. Where art thou?

Glancing over the forest, I couldn't find a suitable location to rest for the night. Maybe I should pull out the "sleeping under a bush" trick that I picked up from Zion. Wouldn't be the most comfortable solution, but it would be bearable… wait, that's too risky. If those "dragons" I saw hunted at night, no way in hell a shrub would keep me hidden well enough. Okay, back to square one. I'll just keep an eye open while exploring. I still have a couple hours of daylight left.

Continuing my endeavor through the trees, I methodically swept the forest for any sign of shelter. Well, I was, until my growling stomach caught my attention. All of the excitement from my encounter with that dragons had driven any thoughts of food out of my mind. Not to mention the fact that I had forgotten the food I was about to eat at the town square. Crap. I'll just go hunting for some game a little later. With the guns I have though, they'll probably just be bloody pieces strewn all over the surrounding foliage. What can I say? My weaponry was designed with the sole purpose of killing things twice my size _,_ not hunting.

Might as well get a jump start on hunting season. Pulling out a Light Shining in Darkness, I ejected an old magazine and slotted in a new one filled with armor piercing rounds. Hopefully this precaution shouldn't completely destroy whatever game I can take down… if I shoot it in the head. Time to continue walking.

 _Wait, are those berries?_

Oh my god, they are. Well, I think so at least. They're not growing on bushes, but trees. Odd. Their texture appears to be similar to a blackberry. I think at least. The Think Tank records don't have the best imagery. Some appear to be red, while others are white. Picking a combination of both, I slipped most of them into my bag and popped the rest into my mouth.

… Holy shit, these taste amazing! I'd liken it to having Sugar Bombs, except that they're fruit, much juicier, aren't stale, and actually taste like they're freshly grown. Even that description doesn't give the taste justice. Well, to be fair, they were freshly grown, but that's beside the point. My only complaint is that they're not filling, but they'll have to do for now.

While walking, I felt the familiar feeling of something watching. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. It wouldn't be the first time. Ever since the Sierra Madre, I've gotten a lot more paranoid about nearly everything. It sounds silly, but getting kidnapped and having a bomb collar slapped on you will quickly make you see everything as a potential attempt on you in some way. Meh, it's probably just the berries.

Wait, is that a cave? Oh, it is! Well, cave isn't the correct term. It's more of a small hole in the side of a steep hill, but I can work with this. Forget hunting, I need to prepare this place for the night.

Approaching the hole, I surveyed its integrity. Seems sturdy enough. Crouching to the ground, I turned on my low-light optics and crawled into the hole. The entrance opened up into a large airy space, and though underground, was relatively comfy, albeit dark. This will work. Shame I don't have the Roughin It ™ bedroll kit, that would be really nice. Oh well, you can't have everything go right.

Might as well take care of some miscellaneous tasks while I'm here.

 _~?_

Out of all the things I've seen, this is easily the most terrifying and mysterious. A humanoid figure, I can't get an estimate on the height, is roaming the ruins of the destroyed city. I'd say the thing is human, but it is entirely covered by something that looks like… _armor._ Not like our armor, as it looks much more protective and maneuverable. The helmet itself is a bit unnerving. Those red eyes… and what are those pipe… things doing on the mask.

Snapping out of my musings, I saw the thing pull out a stylized… bottle, and some kind of wrinkly brown package. I watch, transfixed, as it removed the helmet. Okay, this thing is definitely human. He appeared to be a male in his early 30's, with short brown hair, and had blue eyes. Also pale, really pale. Taking the brown package in his hand, he tore off the paper and appeared to be eating the contents. Pausing, he flicked something off the top of the bottle he had, and started drinking whatever was in it.

Suddenly looking surprised, he violently spat out what he was drinking and stared across the square. Oh gods. His gaze was fixed upon one of those mountain dragons. There is no way he's going to survive this. To my surprise, he simply put his helmet back on, pulled something from within that coat of his, and threw it at the dragon. I flinched as the thing he had lobbed exploded in a brilliant explosion of emerald fire.

This action definitely shocked the dragon, as he probably had never seen a human challenge him like that. Instead of running like I sort of expected him to, he said something in a low voice to the dragon. I could clearly make out what he said, which was "Hibseaj". Oh gods, he pissed off the dragon. As the dragon started to slowly circle him, the human pulled something off his back. It appears to be some intricate piece of metal and wood. He brought up the topmost part of this contraption and aimed it at the dragon. Suddenly, I heard a crack of thunder followed by the crazed screams of pain from the dragon. _**What had he done!?**_

Looking over at the dragon's hind leg, I saw that the leg looked as if it had been caved in by… something. Not to mention the blood pouring out and the fact that the dragon would probably be crippled for life. What really freaked me out was that the human had done that. It was downright horrific that he wielded something that could do that.

Turning my attention back to him, I saw him dive into the tree line and lie flat on his stomach as he pulled out… a black thing? He brought it up to his eyes and pointed it in the direction of the dragon. Was that another weapon? He seemed completely absorbed at the fire-spitting dragon. It's almost like that human has never seen a dragon use fire. Scratch that, never seen a dragon.

 _Who is he?_

Wait, where did he go? Oh, he's still watching the dragons. What's that in his hand? I can barely see it from here. It looks like… he's attaching it to something on his left arm. I watched in shock as he literally disappeared into thin air. Oh gods, where did he go? He was sitting there a moment ago, but he just disappeared into thin air. _**How!? No, really, HOW!**_

When did that second dragon get here? She seems close to vomiting from the appearance of the grave injury on her companion. He seems to be pointing… in the direction that the human had gone in. She gave a solitary nod, then slinked across the ground in the direction the human had disappeared.

I've got to report this.

 _~William_

… That should be everything. Stealth boys are recharging, I have a fire going, and a makeshift sleeping spot packed with leaves I got from outside. That should be everything, except my hunger. Bit too dark to hunt outside now, so I guess I'll just have a couple more of those berries. I could have another MRE, but I should save those for emergency situations.

I might as well spend the rest of my time working on the transportalponder.

Bringing it out, I sighed in relief as the damage had increased during my trek through the woods. Fixing the cracks should be the easiest right now. Praying silently, I reached into my bag in search of some duct tape. It should be able to seal the cracks and prevent any more radiation from leaking out. Okay, I do have some. Pulling out a roll, I ripped off a strip and started wrapping it around the cracked glass. If this doesn't work, I don't know what will.

Might as well tape the handle back on too. It won't fix it, but it should raise the overall durability. Good old duct tape, even the Think Tank couldn't improve you. That's about everything I can do for it right now. I simply don't have any tools to work with. I doubt I could actually fix the transportalponder, but I'm sure I can find some way to get home. Besides walking, that is. That would take too long.

Looking over the transportalponder, an idea struck me. Maybe I don't actually have to teleport to the Mojave. What if the Think Tank could transport me back? It isn't the most ludicrous thing they could do. If they can create a handheld teleportation device, I'm sure they have the technology for long range teleportation. I would just need to contact them. _But how?_

Pouring out the contents of my pack, I started to sort them into neat piles. One pile for technology, another one for weapons, and a final pile for some of the miscellaneous crap I have. Let's see what I have to work with. Because I had been about to perform homicide at Quarry Junction, I had packed only what I thought was necessary, which were weapons and medicine. Not much to work with. Shit.

Okay, I can do this. With a little rewiring, I could probably convert my NCR radio to get onto the Think Tank communication systems. Of course, I would need a way for the radio waves to actually get to the Big Empty. Maybe the transportalponder could project the signal to the Think Tank. It's a big might though. I doubt they intended it to be used that way.

Once again, I ran into a wall. Said wall was the need for the right tools to do this. I do have the equipment for soldering, but I need more than just that. I need an actual work bench with actual tools for precision, not the primitive ones I carry around. This is making me feel light-headed.

 _Whoa, hi there Elijah! How are you? Great! I've finally figured out how to make an orange! You don't want to know how? Fine! I'll teach you how you don't done mess with your savior Thou lord the Courier! Why are you pink? STOP BEING PINK! Oh god, I feel sick. Who's there? WHO'S THERE!? I'll find you… and… and gut you like a… bird? You'll rue the day you… nononononononononononononono. STAY BACK! BACK! BACK! … help… why… berries?_

 _~?_

There you are. Sweet dreams, little scavenger. Feel glad that this be quick.

New Perk: Day Tripper:

Addictive chems last 33% longer.

 **The berries I described here are real, although the hallucinations might not be accurate. I'm basing them off the ones I had when I had expired medication. Props to anyone who can find out what the berries are called. Also, the next chapter will probably take a little longer than usual to come out, as I will be having a busy month. Sorry if this chapter was a bit shorter, I promise the next one will be longer. Thanks for everything! Ciao**

 **~Piston**


	4. Chapter 4

Oh god… my head… what happened? Oh right, the berries.

Note to self: Never eat berries. EVER

Currently, I feel like some drugged up psycho is banging on the inside of my head with a lead pipe. Luckily for me, I have just the cure for that. Reaching into my coat, I pulled out a pack of Fixer and popped out a couple of the pale white tablets into my hand. Popping the pills into my mouth and dry swallowing them, I slowly felt the headache peter out. The first thing I noticed was that I was in a different position than when I had gone to sleep, and it was still night. With that out of the way, there was nothing to distract from the dull aching in my stomach. Looking down, I noticed that the saturnite chest plate covering my torso was moderately dented. More specifically, the area covering my stomach. Odd.

 _-Earlier That Night-_

"Time to make you pay, you little piece of scum." I whispered to myself as I looked over this pathetic excuse for a living creature.

It just felt unnatural, like he (was it a he?) didn't belong, _at all_. Sparrow's description of an alien really did make sense. If not, then the weapon he used was definitely of exotic origin. In all her years of traveling through Pyrrhia as a soldier under Queen Scarlet (I mean, who wasn't, any self-respecting Skywing would join under the Queen's banner), she had never encountered anything that could inflict that amount of damage in a short amount of time.

Well, this was for the best. Anything that could wield that amount of power shouldn't be allowed to live. After all, why do you think we killed off all our animi early on? They simply were too dangerous and unpredictable to effectively control. Like this abomination of nature before me.

Taking a long breath, I raised up one of my right claws and used it to puncture a hole in the scavenger's lower chest. At least, that's what should have happened. Instead, the claw glanced off the unknown material with a loud screech and a moderate amount of sparks. What was more surprising, in my opinion, was the fact that the scavenger hadn't even reacted at this, except with a small yelp of pain. After this, he was unnaturally still.

 _"I must have got him"_ , I thought while poking him.

No reaction.

Perfect.

Okay… now I just need to get Sparrow some medical attention, and all is well… except that I'll have to explain this to the healers… and Queen Scarlet. That will not be fun. Ah, screw it, I'll just think of some lie on the way back and get Sparrow to go along with it. After all, Queen Scarlet would do everything in her power to replicate the destructive power that creature possessed.

Scratch that thought, his equipment probably is a bit too advanced for us to recreate. Yeah, that might work. Give a version of the truth, one that doesn't end with Sparrow and me put into psychological therapy. I'll need to put some thought into this.

 _~Back to William_

Besides the dented chest piece, everything looks fine. All my equipment is accounted for, nothing has been tampered with, and best of all, that stomach pain is mostly gone, so I won't have to expend valuable medicine. The dent is giving me some concern, however. Saturnite was not easily dented. Hell, it wasn't even easily scratched. I'll have to mull this anomaly over later. I need to get moving. After all, what did this could be back soon. The darkness should give me the right conditions to elude almost anything.

Moving out of the cave opening, I took a second to observe the star's beauty. The three moons really did complime… wait… three moons? Slowly looking up, I confirmed what I saw earlier. Three moons, one half full, another three quarters full, and the last one was a crescent.

…

Okay, I need to get this out of my system. Cover your ears.

" **What The Hell!?"** I yelled at the top of my lungs.

 **No, seriously! How is that possible?! Last I checked, Earth only had one moon! Besides, Wouldn't three moons make gravity screwy as hell?! Why isn't this place in a full blown apocalypse!? What about the tides!?** Okay… okay… calm down. Considering all the weird shit that's been happening recently, I won't question it. I mean, what's next? Medieval kingdoms? Magical dragons? A world war? Hang on, if I'm assuming that a war's going on, why don't I include some cryptic-ass prophecy too? Sadly, that would suit this situation all too well. Once again, goddamnit.

Maybe I should think rationally about this all. For one, magic doesn't exist. I can check that off. Secondly, these dragons are probably intelligent, but won't actually have royalty. _Right?_ Thirdly, those three damn moons probably mean I'm on a different planet. That would also explain a lot of other crap, too. For example, it could explain why the dragons have wings. I personally have never seen them fly, but it's either that or the wings are useless, which is unlikely. It could also explain the gravity difference I felt. Well, it could be. It's the only rational explanation I can think of right now.

Well, I should actually get going. I believe all my raving earlier would more than likely attract another one of those dragons.

Looking for a direction to strike out in, I found myself staring into the eyes of something. Whatever it was, it was standing by the trunk of one of the trees.

Wait… is that another human?

Oh my god, it is! Yes! Now I can actually figure out what the hell is going on!

Stepping forward, I greeted him in a happy and loud voice, saying, "Greetings friend!"

Huh. Instead of replying in kind, I got an absolutely shocked look from him. Not surprising. I've found that riot gear can really intimidate the hell out of people. To counter this, I slowly removed the helmet from my head and stowed it away. Time to try again.

Stepping forward with my arm extended as if I was to shake his hand, I put on my biggest smile, and said," It's nice to meet you!"

In a tentative voice, he spoke the words," hualue ah qwoud?"

Shit.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering I'm on a different planet. I'll just add a way to translate between languages to my list of what I'll talk to the Think Tank about. Maybe using charades and pictures will substitute for now. After all, those are universal languages, right? But what should I ask… er, draw, I mean. …Got it, I'll just get it across to him that he should take me to his home. Yeah, that would work wonderfully. Short, simple, and to the point. Only should take ten minutes,

 _~Two Hours Later_

Fricken finally! Man, communicating without words is much harder than I thought. Well, it definitely easier to do it with Christine, as the language barrier problem was only one way and we actually had a common knowledge of what was going on. At least I got the gist of the message to him in the end. Time to head out.

 _~Patient Report_

Name: Sparrow

Age: 19

Occupation: Soldier

Diagnosis: The patient's right hind leg was devastated by an unknown force. Much of the affected area was unsalvageable and infected. To save the patient's life, the leg was amputated. Patient has gone into a coma since then, it is unknown if he will wake up.

Report: Patient was brought in by his partner, Cloud. She claims that the damage caused to the patient's leg was caused by a dragonflame cactus while they were on patrol. When questioned about the lack of seed pods and needles, she says that she pulled all of them out. Currently, this is the most plausible explanation.

 _~Cloud_

Okay, now that's out of the way. Now I just have to cross my claws and hope they don't figure out what happened.

 **New Perk: Intense Training: Charisma 8 - 9**

 **Notes: I found the time to write this little short chapter to sate you over till I can get the next one up. I figured it would be better for me to get a short chapter out now rather than get a longer one out at new years. I'll try to get another chapter out sometime around new years. I should probably mention I wrote this in one go, so it might be a little… nonsensical.**

 **Prepare for the next chapter to divert from the Pyrrhia canon a little. =D**

 **Thanks!**

 **~Piston**


	5. Chapter 5

_Courier Log: 1_

 _So, considering all the weird ass shit that's been happening recently, I've decided to keep a log of what's going on. Also, if you reading call this book a diary, I will blow you head off with a .50MG round. Consider yourself warned._

 _Ok, so… since this is my first log, I should probably sum up what has happened so far. This whole ordeal originally started with misinformation from the Legion, well, I believe it was the Legion. It actually does seem odd when I put it on paper. Anyways, the false info they put through the NCR radios was the accusation of me *ahem* wiping out several squads of NCR troops plus massacring Ranger Station Charlie. With those reports came the "legitimate" signatures of many NCR officials. Now, if someone_ _ **competent**_ _was working over at Camp Golf, I wouldn't be in this fiasco. However, that little shit Hanlon didn't even bother to double-check those reports, and worst of all, didn't even investigate the conflicting evidence. I'm not even sure if he was just too lazy to check or just turned a blind eye. What I'm wondering is how anyone bought that I murdered their own troops with no provocation whatsoever. Speaking of that, I need to put Hanlon back on my hit-list, or at least take his gun. His magnum looks awesome. I'm getting off topic._

 _Now, how does the NCR react to the claims that their little angel, ace in the hole, and the person who saved their president's life had murdered at least 50 of their soldiers in cold blood? Do they:_

 _Investigate the matter in logical and calm fashion_

 _Look at my list of good deeds that benefitted the them, like, I don't know, KILLING CEASER, and compare them to the other reports that came out from that camp_

 _Send a hit squad to threaten me, ominously state I have 3 days, and list me as kill on site._

 _If you guessed C, you get a cookie! Yeah, real smart NCR. Send a group of rangers to threaten a person who has singlehandedly killed 2 dozen legion hit-squads and survived The Divide. Luckily for them, however, they flat out told me they were just following orders, and didn't believe that I actually did it. That alone kept their heads from being blown off their shoulders. This whole thing reeks of group-think. Or maybe the NCR really is as incompetent as Mr. House said they are. Damn bureaucracy._

 _To make matters worse, the higher ups in California told Mr. New Vegas about this. I'm not even sure if I should be surprised by this bullshit anymore. This led to them convincing him to blatantly state on air that I was a murdering psychopath. And because that everyone takes what Mr. New Vegas says at face value, this led to me being… well, hated. Let me reword that, most people didn't hate me. The only people who actually hated me were those who lived or worked in Vegas. Thank God for that. Besides, I'm pretty sure this whole incident was magnified by the politicians. Getting off track again._

 _So, several shenanigans ensue, including death threats swapping between 15 separate individuals and me, getting on a live air talk with Mr. New Vegas, and me brokering a deal with my "favorite" government. Luckily, I got off with no consequences whatsoever, although I did hear that many of their politicians were trying to discredit me. From what I found out from investigating that incident, they believed I was an unstable element, a gamble that shouldn't be taken. Of course, Mr. New Vegas had the audacity to challenge my allegiance to the NCR. My current theory at the time was that he was an asshole. Looking back, I'm pretty sure it could've been the Legion's meddling, I did hear they had an infiltrator over at Camp McCarren._

 _Anyway, that led to me being "persuaded" to bolster my reputation by taking care of their little deathclaw problem at Quarry Junction. In case you didn't pick up on my sarcasm, he blackmailed me into this. I'm not saying what it is, but I will tell you it involves a certain overlord in Vegas along with some whiskey and minor amounts of homicide. Trust me, it was awkward, you don't want to know. Mainly because I would have to kill you. Speaking of which, if I'm not dead and you're reading this without my explicit permission, I will blow your head off with a .50MG round. I know I just repeated a previous death threat in the same chapter. Get triggered._

 _Mr. New Vegas's little manipulation ended with me nearly dying and getting away using my_ _ **EPIC TELEPORTATION POWERS.**_ _I would love to tell you how I can suddenly teleport, but I can't. I literally can't. "They" made sure of that. Of course, in the current situation I'm in, I am rather glad that I didn't murder "them". Speaking of which, me nearly dying is kinda the reason I'm stuck in magical dragon land. Yes, Magical Dragon Land. Granted, I haven't seen any magic yet, but seeing all the strange shit here so far, I wouldn't put it past it here. By the way, I'm not high. I already checked. I've been here for at least 2 days, taken some fixer, been drugged by berries, and writing in coherent sentences. I probably should bring back some proof though._

 _To start off in Magical Dragon Land, (Yes, I'm calling it Magical Dragon Land, I don't have a better name right now) I woke up in a forest, and passed out. Not just any forest, but a forest that put the flora in Zion to shame. That's pretty much my first night. Not much happened._

 _Day 2# layout:_

 _Wake up_

 _Wander with no purpose in mind for hours_

 _Come across a village that makes Nipton look untouched_

 _Encounter dragons while eating lunch_

 _Run for my life_

 _Find shelter_

 _Don't eat the berries_

 _Sleep_

 _So, I did encounter dragons. They were a lot like the ones in Tales of Chivalrie and Grognark, if you need a comparison. The only differences I noticed during the time was a slight difference in body shape and their color, which were 2 shades of red, one darker and one lighter. I shot one in the hind leg and ran away. More specifically, I made a tactical retreat. By the way, if you by some mad off-chance find yourself here, I have one piece of advice._ _Don't eat the berries._ _It was not fun._

 _Day 3#:_

 _Waking up that morning was particularly painful, as those berries gave a new definition for hell. Seriously, they make hangovers feel like minor headaches. Thank god Fixer works on them. Anyways, the second thing I noticed was that my chestplate now had a sizeable dent in it. Not so big of a deal, right? Wrong. From what I concluded when I first acquired that riot gear, the metal used for the armor is saturnite. For those who don't know, saturnite is the ultimate metal. Excessively light, practically bullet-proof, and good against blunt force trauma, it's nearly impossible to scratch, much less dent. So you can kinda understand why I'm freaking out here._

 _So, can you guess what happens next? Hang on, why am I even asking, it's not like anyone's going to read this. I look up, and I see three moons. Three fu… wait, maybe I shouldn't use too strong language here, might make some people pissed. Why do I even care? Still not taking any chances. Back on topic. I freaked out at this, as it pretty much confirmed I was on another planet. There's still the chance of this being a simulation, but I'm sure not even the Brotherhood's simulations could run something this seamlessly._

 _After my little… let's call it a meltdown, I caught a human spying on me over by a random tree. Looking back over the incident, it's amazing that humans exist here at all. Scratch that, this place is a statistical improbability. Seriously, it's nearly identical to Earth, except for the radiation and dragons. Reminds me about some multiverse theory I read over at "their" home. I'll have to look into that when I get back. Anyways, about five seconds into our "conversation", I found that we couldn't speak the same language. Because of this, I resorted to charades. Bit childish, but it worked. I had acted out to him that he should take me to his place of dwelling, and it worked pretty well. In fact, he's watching me write this._

 _I should probably describe what his… well, their settlement is like. For one, it's underground. Strange, but I'm not one to judge. Kind of reminds of that place in Boston, what was it called again… oh, right, the Institute. speaking of which, I should visit sometime and see if they're real. Anyways, they also have very rudimentary and crude technology, the most advanced I've seen being basic lighting illuminating the tunnels they inhabit. The tunnels themselves are just dug into the dirt and stone while being supported by wooden beams and pillars. It's a promising sign, maybe they'll have the tools I need._

 _Speaking of the settlers themselves, they seem much healthier than anyone I've seen during my travels across the Mojave. I'm chalking this up to the fact that I've seen no radiation whatsoever here, so they probably have mostly pure genes. This fact could come in handy later on._

 _Anyways, this log has gone on a little too long. I'll write in it later, maybe._

 **So, it's been a while. All I have to say procrastination/writing blocks suck. Speaking of, if I ever say when I'll have a chapter out, expect the wait to be a bit longer than what I would say originally. Also, this log was originally going to be part of longer chapter, but I decided to just release the log as it is and split it up into 2 chapters. Finally, I thank you all for your patience. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

Stretching out in the wooden chair I was sitting in, I let myself sink into a much more comfortable position. I had just writing my first log on what had happened so far. I finally found a use for those blank books that the Book Chute enjoyed making so much. Of course, he did suggest using them as a journal, but let's be honest, nobody would ever take advice from a glorified recycler.

Reaching down and grabbing my pack, I pulled out the broken transportalponder. Time to get serious and rig up some sort of communication system.

-9 hours later-

It took me 7 hours (along with a lot of cussing and experimentation) to come up with a suitable design for my insane idea of an interdimensional radio, and another 2 hours to be absolutely sure my little radio project wouldn't short-circuit. If that happened, I would be forced to scrap my plasma defender for parts, which I really didn't want to do. I valued its ability to shoot searing bolts of plasma and cause explosions a little too much to just give up. It also didn't help that the guy I'm presuming to be my guard was interrupting me every five minutes for who knows why. I wonder if he's afraid I might kill him. If so, he should realize that I could have killed him as soon as I was alone with him. Doesn't he realize I'm armed to the teeth with weapons? You can't exactly conceal an anti-material rifle. Speaking of which, they didn't even bother to search me. This place just confuses me. Least the room had the tools I needed.

Anyways, the radio actually looks rather tame compared to what I had originally envisioned it to be. Instead of being a tangled mess of wires miscellaneous parts, it had turned out looking relatively normal, by my standards, at least. From what I had gathered from how the transportalponder worked during my time of owning it, the barrel containing the crackling energy acted as a transmitter, sending… something… to Big Mountain, I believe. On the flipside, the antennae received … the same something transmitted. The idea reminds me of some of the old pre-war networks, where data was sent and received both ways.

Back to the topic at hand. Considering I wouldn't need the handle and trigger to the transportalponder, I removed the wires connecting them to the barrel and stored the scrapped parts for later use. I also straightened out the antennae (mostly) to hopefully receive any return signals. With that out of the way, it was a simple affair of rewiring the NCR radio to what I perceived to be the input and output wires for the transmitter and receiver. Because I only needed the speakers in the NCR radio, I stripped it of its transmitter and receiver, and added those to the transportalponder in the hopes that it would do… something, I guess. Finally, I hooked up a powering mechanism that's siphoning power from about 5 small energy cells. I could use micro-fusion cells, but I don't want to risk my project frying itself.

Okay… getting off track again. I really have to stop doing that. Anyways, time to see if this time sink was worth the effort. Best case scenario, I get contact with the Think Tank and figure out how to get home. Worst case, I just ruined two very valuable tools (Okay, I'll admit that I never used the NCR radio before) and I'll be stuck here for god knows how long. Although that wouldn't be all bad, considering that this place seems untouched by the radiation that plagues the Mojave. But then you have the dragons, which seem a hella lot more resilient than deathclaws and can fly for Christ's sake. So in retrospect, it balances out, doesn't it? Damnit, got off track again.

Well, time for the moment of truth. Connecting the energy cells to the wires that would transmit power, the device powered on with the tell-tale hum of energy that you get from most energy weapons when you charge them up. My guard, who seemed intrigued by what I was doing, leaned in a little closer to see what would transpire. I, of course, was fiddling with the dials (Which were already installed in the NCR radio) trying to get a signal.

Luck did abound with me, however, as I got a signal within a minute of fiddling. How lucky. Well, time to see if this works.

~?

What is he doing? He's been fiddling with those electronic… things, for so long now. This at least answers one of our questions. He is definitely not from here. Everything we've seen him use are centuries ahead of what we have, from his tools to his weapons to his armor. I seriously doubt one of our swords even leave a scratch on whatever material the chest plate is made of.

I guess we should be thankful he hasn't tried to leave the room yet. Trying to stop him would suicidal. Anyways, it might be worth copying his weapons, considering how it tore up that Sky Dragon's leg. Nothing except some kind of giant crossbow at our most fortified settlement has been able to achieve that degree of destruction.

Well, whatever our guest has been doing seems to be done. I'm not exactly sure what he hopes to achieve with what he's done, but it ought to be interesting. From what I can tell, he's slowly but surely twisting 2 little wheels on the main body of the thing he's been working on. What is he…

This train of thought was interrupted by our guest speaking into his contraption, and getting a response, which sounded a tad more distorted than it should have. Their exchange went on for a few more minutes before I felt something trickling down my neck. Gathering a small amount on my figures, I flinched back a little when I identified the fluid as blood. _Coming from my ears. How?_

The same had happened to him as well. Except he looked excited, for some reason. I soon realized why when he asked in a rather peppy voice," Can you understand me?"

A little shocked, I just nodded my head.

At this realization, he grabbed his invention, brought it to his mouth again, and said," Okay, thanks Dr. 8, I owe you. Can't say I was expecting that to work, but I don't care. Tell the others I send my thanks as well. See ya later!"

After saying that, he took a seat and gestured I take one of well. Still a little numb, I complied. Figuring I should say something, I went with the obvious question of," Who are you?"

To my surprise, he shot back, "What about you, what's your name?"

Considering that telling him really wouldn't have any foreseeable consequences, I might as well tell him, "Well, my name is Marius."

Seeming satisfied about this, he said," Well Marius, I'm known as the Courier."

 _What_? I'm pretty sure that he must joking. Well, "Isn't that a job title?"

"Yes, you have no idea how many times I get that," he replied nonchalantly.

"Don't you have a real name?" I probed, trying to get a bit more information.

To my annoyance, he replied with, "Of course I do, I'm just not telling you. You can call me the Courier, though."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't trust you." _Ok, fair enough_.

"Okay? So, how are you able to speak all of the sudden?" Seriously, how is he doing this?

Hopefully, this should give me some info to work with.

Starting out, he said, "Ok, first of all, you have to realize I am physically incapable of telling you most of the details."

"Why's that?" I interrupted him with.

Looking annoyed, he replied with a fairly _straightforward_ answer of, " _They_ did some kind of voo-doo shit to my brain that prevents me from disclosing _them_. What I can tell you is that I'm using translator software they sent me via soundwaves. Admittedly, _they're_ still working on making it safe. Don't worry though, as long as your over 20, the bleeding ears thing shouldn't ruin your life… much. That answer your question?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back it up pal," I said with a bit of force in my voice. That was a bit of an information overload. I didn't even recognize half of what he said.

"Well, I could always go slow- "

"Wait!" I nearly shouted, "How about this; I take you to our group's leader, and we can discuss this whole thing over some food and drink."

"Sure, why not, been a while since I've had anything to eat," said Courier replied with.

Thank gods. Hopefully, this courier will be useful to us.

~Courier

After the little conversation I had with Marius, we both exited my temporary room and began heading down into this rabbit's den of a settlement. This place is rather crude, but I will admit it's sturdily built. The tunnels are a little claustrophobic though, and remind me a little too much of some of the old mines I had come across in my travels.

Shivering slightly at those memories, we continued traveling to our destination. Despite this place seeming a bit cramped, it was filled with people. Thinking about it, that's probably why this place is cramped. Anyways, the stares and glances at me were starting to get annoying fast. Might as well pop a stealth boy to get rid of that. Or maybe that would be a bad idea. Hell, for all I know, I might already be developing Nightkin schizophrenia. I remember hearing something about how the first stages involving extreme fear of being visible in public. Oh well.

Turning to Marius, I whispered, "I'm just going to disappear for a bit." Without waiting for a reply, I attached a stealth boy to my pip-boy and was instantly hidden by the light refraction shield.

I swear, the reaction on everyone's face was priceless. They looked a bit stunned, and after a second, Marius seemed to realize what I did. To my surprise, he said something that actually shocked me. Just a bit.

"Ah, so that's how you disappeared back over by the village."

"Wait, you saw that?" I asked incredulously. How did I not notice him?

"Yeah, I saw the whole thing. I have to admit, we could use some of those… well, whatever those are," he said, while getting weird stares from the others for talking to the thin air.

"Stealth Boys," I interjected with.

"Yes, we could use these so called _Stealth Boys_ , being able to turn invisible would really help with some of our missions," he started off with, "Speaking of which, how did you injure that dragon like that? Literally nothing we have could have done the damage you inflicted in such a short time."

Might as well tell him. "Well, you see, I have something called a gun. More specifically, it's called an anti-material rifle. Back from where I'm from, it's used as a heavy weapon for taking down heavily armored creatures, like deathclaws." I shuddered involuntarily at the thought. I guess the damn incident that got me here had more of an effect on me than I thought. *sigh

"Hold on, what? A gun? Deathclaw? Might've heard Pauline say something 'bout a gun once, but a deathclaw? What _is_ it?" He said with a fair bit of confusion in his voice.

"A deathclaw is a creature native to my homeland, the Mojave Wasteland. Admittedly, describing one really wouldn't do it justice for how terrifying they are. For simplicity's sake, just imagine a bipedal dragon without the wings of fire. I mean, wings and fire." Where did that come from?

"We're here," Marius said.

Huh, guess our little talk made the time fly.

We stopped in front of a fairly normal wooden door with a basic lock on it. I'd bet one of my gold bars that even a novice lock picker could get through it.

My thoughts were interrupted with Marius saying to me, "Now, Courier, our leader is named Lazarus. I can't order you to be honest with him, but I would recommend it. He does not tolerate lies, or "beating around the bush". Just answer his questions, and you'll be fine."

Turning away from me, Marius turned to the wooden door at the end of the tunnel and rapped hard on the wood. Nothing. Wha-

"Come in," A deep and masculine voice said from the other side of the door. Dear god, it's been forever since I've heard a voice that commanded that much authority. Except from the NCR, maybe. Or the Legion. What am I even talking about?

With a bit of nervousness welling up in my stomach, I pushed open the door and stepped inside.

 **New Perk: Jury Rigger**

 **A/N**

 **Ok, so it's been forever since I've updated this story, but I promise you I've actually been busy since January with a lot of stuff, mainly** _ **Brigadoon.**_ **Thankfully, that's over and I should be able to update the story without having to wait around 3 ½ months to get the chance to do so. One last thing. A lot of what I've talked about in this chapter is mostly head canon for me. Mostly with the scavenger's den and the transportalponder. However, the plasma defender can cause enemies to explode with the meltdown perk. Hope it was worth the wait! Thanks for reading.**

 **~Piston**


	7. Chapter 7

Stepping inside what I presumed to be an office of sorts, my attention was drawn to the rather large man sitting behind an oak desk. When I say large, I don't mean fat, I mean that he looked strong enough that he could break me in half with minimal effort. I'd say the feelings is reinforced by the fact that he's about an inch or 2 taller than me. And the eyes. His eyes are a strange combination of steel-like determination, apprehension, and a splash of wisdom thrown in there. He does look out of his prime, though. Speaking of which, he's one of the few people I've seen who actually seems to have reached have reached past 60. Guess the life expectancy here is similar to home. I should watch my back around him. Well, maybe not, but it's better safe than sorry.

The room we're situated in is definitely a little more… decorated, than the rest of this warren. For one, there are dented and broken armors and weapons, mainly swords, chest pieces, and spears. Trophies maybe, or mementos from previous escapades. Damn, I really should watch my back 'round this guy. Or at least work on my unarmed fighting. Along with the broken weapons, there was a small bookshelf in the corner, along with a minimal amount of books on it. Finally, the desk itself was covered in papers, none of them which I couldn't make sense of.

Back to Lazarus. He's just sitting there, watching me. He broke his self-imposed stillness and wordlessly gestured for me to take a seat in a rather plain wooden chair on the opposite side of the desk. Obeying him, I took the seat and waited for him to address me.

…

Okay, stay stoic, remember those tips about conversation. I can do this. Let's get started. Might as well initiate this conversation with some small talk.

"So, you must be Lazarus." I started off with.

One nod.

Huh. Man of few words.

"So, you don't talk much, do you? Is there a reason for that, like for intimidati- "

"Stop!" he almost shouted before bursting into a fit of coughing.

He continued, with his voice laced with annoyance and very scratchy," It's an injury, can't talk too much these days."

"Sorry, geez, just a question," I replied, with a bit more sarcasm than I intended to use. "Anyways, you obviously wanted to talk to me, so let's get to the point. What do you want?"

"What do you think?" he shot back, "Here I are, minding my own business, when Marius suddenly barges into my office claiming to have seen a certain someone take down a mountain dragon in a couple of seconds. On top of that, he says this individual did so with weaponry that was thought to exist only in the most ludicrous of fairytales, and that you can somehow turn invisible. So enlighten me, who are you, and why should I trust you?"

"Well, I haven't killed any of you yet, does that count?" It usually does in the Mojave, at least. Well, mostly. I've lost count of how many people have tried stab me in the back. They're a dying breed.

In a voice dripping with scorn, Lazarus said, "That's one of the most idiotic reasons I've ever heard. With that mentality, we'd all already be dead. You also didn't tell me who you are."

"Names William," I said neutrally. Just play it cool.

"Didn't you tell Marius that you were the Courier?" he questioned, the suspicion evident in his voice. Hold on, _what_? I only told Marius, and there's no way in hell he could have relayed that information to the man in front of me. What did Lazarus do, bug the room I was in?

"Ok, how did you know that?" I spoke with a flare of anger present.

"Trade secret," he said with, in my opinion, rather good poker face. Seriously, he wouldn't look out of place at one of New Vegas's various card tables. What do I know, though? I'm shit at poker.

"Anyways," he continued, "I created a little test to determine if you'll be useful to us. As you said you were a courier-"

"I never said that, I said to call me the Courier," I swear he's doing this crap on purpose.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," he said while simultaneously glaring at me, "I figured you'd be right at home with this." With a flourish, pulled out an envelope with an intricate wax seal.

"I'm going to have you deliver this letter, _without it being tampered_ , to a neighboring colony out in the desert. If you can complete this task and bring back proof, we can talk more about… your other problems."

"No one else wants it, right? I've had problems like that before." I interjected with a grimace. Considering what Lazarus said earlier, guns probably don't exist here. For all I know, I could be the most dangerous person on… where ever I am.

Wait, my other problems? How does he… never mind.

Ignoring my discomfort, he said, "Don't worry about that, there isn't any risk of someone trying to kill you over it. Except dragons, of course. I'm guessing you'll also want a map." He proceeded to hand me a map. "Now get out of here."

 _~3 hours later_

Looking at the map, I realized I couldn't read any of it. I could ask Marius for translation, but he left. I think, atleast. Welp, back to asking the Think Tank for a solution. I wouldn't put it past one of them to have already updated it.

Grabbing my interdimensional radio™ (Gonna call it that now), I turned it on and braced myself for the conversation to come. Dr. Klein was sure to be just as "enthusiastic" as usual.

"Klein, you there?" I spoke into the radio. No response.

"Earth to Kleiner, where are you?" I said with more force this time. Why isn't he responding?

"Kle-"

"LOBOTOMITE! BE QUIET! I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF AN IMPORTMANT EXPERIMENT!" Dr. Klein shouted back. I really need to fix that volume problem he has.

"Look, I just need a software upgrade to actually read different langua-"

"FINE! JUST TAKE IT AND LEAVE US BE! SCIENCE DOESN'T GET ITSELF DONE! WAIT! THAT'S IT-", he was saying as I waited for my ears to begin bleeding, and the message cut off. Turning back to the file, I found the update was already in effect, kind of. Guess Dr. 8 figured out how to prevent the ear bleeding. I'll have to remember to thank him for that, the ear bleeding is painful. As for the writing, I could understand it, but at the same time, I still saw the jumbled symbols of their language. It was still hard to read, but do-able.

Ok, so from what I'm seeing here, I'm currently located on the east side of the mountain ranges near the middle of the continent, and the colony I need to reach is located a fair amount into the northern peninsula, and from what I see, the climate there appears to be extremely cold. God, that's going to suck.

Huh, looking at this now, this entire landmass is shaped a bit like a dragon. These "coincidences" are starting to get annoying fast. Anyways, time to start trekking. I should travel at night only, as to avoid those winged abominations. If I do that, it should be easy to avoid any dragons, and other humans I do meet will probably not have guns. What's the worst that could happen?

…Maybe I shouldn't have thought that.

Meh, I'll be fine.

 **A/N**

 **Bet you all thought I forgot about this story, right? Well, I didn't. Anyways, this chapter was really, and I mean really, hard to write. I'm not the best with dialogue, but I finally got it the way I wanted. As for what comes next, I plan on editing some earlier chapters to fix any mistakes I made, generally improve the content, improve certain parts I see are idiotic in hindsight (aka chapter 5: good lord it sucked), and create a proper cover. Also add consistent punctuation and fonts between chapters. I really appreciate all the positive feedback I've gotten back on this little project on mine, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Peace.**

 **~Piston**


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